We photographed this spectacular 1977 Ford LTD II for Collectible Automobile magazine in July. This beautiful Ford has only 24,000 miles (38,624 km) on it and is completely original, including the factory CB radio and antenna. The current owner just purchased this car from the original owner.

This was our first opportunity using the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 85mm f1.8G lens we recently purchased. The goal of automobile photography is to make the vehicle look as good as possible, and for nearly 40 years I’ve been looking for the perfect solution to separate the vehicle from the foreground and background. When we were photographing with a 4×5 view camera, I used 210mm and 305mm lenses, which are equivalent to 70mm and 100mm lenses in 35mm format. These came close to the “bokeh” I was looking for, but even with careful tilts and swings, I often had to stop down too much to fully blur the background while leaving the vehicle sharp.

Quite simply, the Nikon AF-S Nikon 85mm f1.8G⎘ lens is a dream come true! Look for these photographs in a 2023 issue of Collectible Automobile⎘ magazine.

Harry Miller’s cars won ten Indianapolis 500 events, and his engines dominated championship racing in the U.S. for decades, claiming 39 Indy 500 victories. When Johnny Rutherford took the checkered flag in the 1976 500, his McLaren/Offy became the last victor powered by a Miller-derived engine – 33 years after Harry Miller’s passing. Miller’s carburetors were the choice of racers in the teens and twenties, and he consulted with E.L. Cord on the front wheel drive Cord L-29. This is just a sample of Miller’s genius.

Fearing the legacy of Miller’s accomplishments would fade with time, industrialist David Vogel Uihlein, Sr. founded the Harry A. Miller Club⎘ in 1989. Knowing these machines were born to run, Uihlein also wanted track time for club members. They rented The Milwaukee Mile in 1995 for the first of what would be the annual “Millers at Milwaukee” event.

This is a fitting location, since Harry Miller was born in Menomonee, Wisconsin, and The Milwaukee Mile is the oldest continuously running automobile racetrack in the world, with the first contest taking place in 1903. Unlike other vintage events, Millers at Milwaukee is different: no competition, no concourse judging, no restricted paddock access – just the opportunity for comradery, education, and exercising these thoroughbreds. Any front-engine Indy Car is eligible, along with pre-World War II Grand Prix racers. David Uihlein passed away in 2010, but Harry Miller’s legacy is in good hands. That was evident at the Harry A. Miller Club’s 27^th annual Millers at Milwaukee event on July 8^th and 9^th this year.

Kelly and I covered this event which is scheduled for the Winter 2022 issue of Linkage⎘ magazine.

Photos

Images © 2022 Tom & Kelly Glatch – All Rights Reserved

On a 98°F (36.6°C) evening in June, we photographed this unusual 1974 Mercury Montego MX Station Wagon for Collectible Automobile magazine. With 66,886 miles (107,642 km) on the odometer, this unrestored wagon is very well preserved. Look for this Mercury Montego in the February 2023 issue of Collectible Automobile⎘ magazine.

Photos

Images © 2022 Tom & Kelly Glatch – All Rights Reserved

Only a Midwesterner would buy a Corvette in January, but we did! “Annie” is our 30,400 mile 1993 Chevrolet Corvette 40th Anniversary convertible. In 1993 we were loaned a twin to this Corvette by General Motors, for a travel story for Corvette Fever magazine. We stayed at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina, and traveled the Blue Ridge Parkway. We fell in love with this Corvette, and have wanted one ever since. We’ve been photographing and writing about other people’s Corvettes since 1989, now we finally own one. It only took 29 years, but dreams do come true! Special thanks to Burtness Chevrolet⎘ in Orfordville, Wisconsin for a wonderful buying experience. Annie was owned from 2004 to 2015 by the late John Bowditch, who was the owner of Burtness Chevrolet.